Nothing is quite as it seems
by Polgara16
Summary: This is the adventure three years after the hobbits return from mount doom, but not at the end of the LOTR trilogy.Please review!
1. Chapter 1

Pippin was sitting, at his regular table in the 'Green Dragon'. His half pint of ale before him, strangely untouched. It had been three days, no word or sound from Merry. He was starting to wonder what had happened. As strange as that sounded, Frodo Baggins couldn't leave him be.

"Pippin!" Frodo cried. "Where have you been, I'd thought you'd be flirting with that girl you like…her name escapes but..."

"What do you want _Frodo?_" Pippin asked, with enough venom to scare a rattle snake.

"Well I thought you'd like to know Merry is back. I saw him about three o'clock, looked quite distressed actually."

"What!?" Pippin choked, though he had not been drinking. "He is….back! Why didn't you tell me?" Pippin screeched, rising from his seat. Staring at Frodo with a face that could melt lead.

"I wasn't really in the mood earlier." Frodo told him calmly.

Pippin smacked Frodo hard in the face.

"You bloody idiot!"

Pippin ran from the pub as fast as his hairy feet would carry him. 'Merry where are you?' Pippin thought, as he dodged past a startled pig.

Soon though he came across Merry's home, but to his surprise and dismay, they were packing up Merry's things into a large cart.

Pippin dashed into the house.

"Merry?" he screamed.

"What?" a disgruntled voice returned.

Pippin ran towards the voice, it lead him to Merry's room, he went in to see his friend dressed in a strange assortment of clothing.

"Merry? What the hell are you wearing?" Pippin asked still startled by his friend's ridiculous get up.

"Pippin?" The disgruntled Merry asked. "Who let you in here?"

"What? What is that supposed to mean? How about 'hi Pippin, sorry I've been gone for three days but I'm back now etc.' Not bloody 'who let you in here?'"

Merry walked up to Pippin and handed him a large bag of money.

"Here, now go I'm very busy." Merry said turning.

Pippin threw the bag at Merry's head, knocking him over.

"What the bloody hell is going on? When do you become such a prat?

Merry stood up and wiped his clothes. Pippin noticed something glint on one of his fingers. Pippin walked over carefully and grabbed Merry's arm.

"Merry where did you get this?" he cried, pulling at the ring.

"No where, let go you buffoon!" Merry cried, trying to pull his arm free from Pippin's grasp.

"No…!" Pippin shouted.

Pippin pulled with all his might, but the ring would not budge! Finally he let go, exhaustion ripping at his whole body.

Merry on the other hand looked calm, as if he hadn't been fighting at all.

"Oh dear _Peregrin _you seem to be in a spot of bother. I'm sure I can find some kind gentlemen to help you out." Merry answered, his voice lathered in malice.

No more then an hour later, poor Pippin though all ready exhausted to his limits, was battered and bruised. He did not understand what had happened to his dear friend, but knew he would not be able to find out alone.


	2. Chapter 2

3 days before…

Merry had been sitting by the party tree, waiting for Pippin to arrive. As usual he was late; Pippin sadly had not been blessed with a good sense of time.

Merry leaned against the old tree, the light breeze lulling him into a strange sleep.

"_Merry…Merry, help me Merry, I need you're help… please." A sweet voice cried._

_Merry was standing in a glade, a strange moon hung over him._

"_Where are you?" Merry cried back. _

_But no answer came from the voice. _

_Merry looked around, but every place looked the same; he couldn't figure out where that voice had come from._

_Suddenly there was a maiden before him. Her body was covered in ivy, her hair shimmered. Her face could not be seen apart from her red lips._

"_Merry…Help me Merry, please." She cried again._

"_I will but where are you?" Merry asked._

"_Somewhere close, I know you'll find me…" She whispered. _

_The maiden reached out her hand, Merry reached for it, though as he looked, he saw her fading, and then a familiar voice seemed to resonate around him._

"_Merry? Merry…Merry?"_

Pippin was knelt beside him holding a bottle and a couple of fishing rods.

"Merry, you dosed off for a second there." Said Pippin, smiling stupidly.

"Pippin? Where is she?" Merry said, jumping up.

"Who? Merry you've been at the Gaffer's home brew haven't you?"

Angrily, Merry pushed passed Pippin.

"What's wrong? Merry! Merry?" Pippin shouted, but Merry was gone.

Merry was running now through the town, past the houses and was now standing by the edge of the wood. He knew this was where she was.

Merry had been walking deeper and deeper into the forest. He heard a noise growing over the wind, a voice, the voice of the maiden. She was calling him and Merry was answering.

He stepped in between the thick branches and thorns and came upon a nest, nestled in the very heart of the woods.

"Hello?" Merry whispered, he did not want to disturb the maiden's song.

"Come forth Merry, I wish to give you a gift." The maiden answered.

Merry stepped into the nest and saw the maiden, dressed in white, a veil covering her face, except for her lips.

"It seems my groom is here." She said, smiling.

"Groom?"

"Oh yes Merry, you listened and searched for me, this means you are honoured with my hand."

She took a ring from a branch, holding Merry's hand, she softly placed it on his finger.

"There." She said. "We are married."

Merry though as soon as the ring had been placed on his finger, seemed in a daze. It was an ancient magic which poor Merry had been placed under. He had been blinded by love.

"Merry, I am you're bride and you must honour me with all you're worldly possessions." The maiden said harshly. "This place bores me. I've been here for so long, take me to _Rivendell_"


	3. Chapter 3

Pippin awoke; sunlight drenching the room. This was not his house, it was airy and fresh. As he got up he saw a pair of eyes watching him, tiny blue eyes.

"Who's there?" Pippin whispered, trembling as he moved.

"Hehehe." The tiny person replied.

"What do you want?" Pippin shouted, rising from the bed.

The tiny eyes recoiled at the anger, and vanished behind an oak door.

Pippin limped towards the door, and threw it back, revealing a little hobbit girl. Pippin realised that this was Sam's daughter Elanor. The little hobbit was teary eyed, but Pippin forgetting his pain picked her up and walked towards the sound of voices.

Sam was sitting, smoking an elegant, long pipe. Rosie was stitching a battered pair of trousers, on the leg there was pinned a leaf of Lorien.

Pippin placed Elanor on the floor, and walked towards Sam.

"Sam, where did you find me?" Pippin asked, as he groaned himself into an armchair.

"Well Pippin we found you outside of the house, you looked terrible though." Sam answered, turning to Pippin with a sympathised look.

Rosie placed the trousers down and turned to pippin.

"Who did this to you Pip?" Rosie asked.

Pippin looked at his feet; he didn't have the heart to tell them what had happened. Would they even believe that Merry could do something like this?

"It was...Merry..."

Sam coughed on his pipe.

"What!? How? Merry is your best friend Pip. He'd never do something like that..."

"He did though...We have to help him Sam...We have to get him back."

The tears were swelling in Pippin's eyes, he couldn't hold them back. All the hurt he had felt cascaded out and he sat there sobbing in the chair.

What felt like hours passed, until Rosie stood up and quickly walked to a book shelf.

From there she took a book, withered and cracked by time and opened it onto a page.

She walked back, in a trance, straight to Pippin with a look of desperation.

"Pippin. Was Merry wearing this on his finger?"

Rosie pointed to a faded picture; Pippin gazed at it, recognizing it as if it had been a lifelong companion.

"This is the ring, how did you know that..."

"Merry had been wearing it. Well when I was in my tweens my mother told me a story..."


End file.
